China’s government banned from using Apple products

A source that spoke to Bloomberg has revealed that the iPad and the MacBook have not been included on the Chinese government’s procurement list that was distributed back in July. A total of ten Apple devices were left off, and as a result they cannot be used by government agencies or otherwise purchased with public money.

The information is said to have come from government officials “familiar with the matter.” The MacBook Pro and Air, as well as the iPad and iPad Mini, were reportedly left off the list distributed in July, a reversal of the June list which is said to have included the products.

The reasons revolve around spying and security concerns, according to the sources, the same reason Microsoft, Symantec, Kaspersky, and more have also been given the boot. This, of course, isn’t the only recent concern governments have expressed over US products.

Late last month, Russia proposed that Apple, among others, hand over its source code to prove that its products aren’t being used to facilitate spying. The nation’s Communications Minister Nikiforov had said, “Obviously, companies which disclose the source code of their programs are not hiding anything, but those who do not intend to establish cooperation with Russia on this issue may have undeclared capabilities in their products.”